Gearing.



W. H. GEORGE.

GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1. 1914.

Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- w. H. GEORGE.

(BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY h I914.

m 4 4V @W 2% wrw Am J m 2 a J 00 Z W4 2 a w w 6 W 10w %N m m 9 LU 6 w JM WILLIAM H. GEORGE, OF FAIRFIELD, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE DEXTER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

GEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 19165..

'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. GEORGE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of F airfield, in the county of Jefferson and State of Iowa, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Gearing; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanylng drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvementsin gearing and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

The improved gearing, as shown herein, is applied to the operation of a washing machine of the dolly or agitator type and belongs to the high speed, lever-operated class of such gearing.

My improved gearing, including the fly wheel and the high speed gear, as well as the operating lever, are designed to be carried by the hinged lid of the washing machine tub.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a top plan view of a washing machine of the dolly or agitator type provided with my improved gearing. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view representing, on an enlarged scale, a vertical section through Fig. 1 in a plane indicated by the line 33 thereof. Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view,- Fig. 3 showing the parts as they appear when the dolly shaft is in its lowest position, and Fig. 4 showing the parts as they appear when the dolly shaft is in elevated position.

Referring now to that embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, 10 indicates the main support for the gearing, which in this case is the familiar washing machine tub, having a hinged cover or lid 12.

12 indicates the fixed top of the tub to which the lid 12 is connected by means of hinges 12 12*.

All of the gearing, with theexcepti'on of the main operating lever, is carried by a plate 13, which is attached by screws or otherwise to the tub lid 12.

14 indicatesthe dolly shaft which extends vertically through the lid 12.

15 indicates a flywheel mounted in a plane parallel to and slightly above the plane of the tub lid 12 upon a stud 16 fixed to the plate 13.

17 ,indicates a large gear rotatively mounted on a stud 18 fixed to the plate 13. The said large gear is located in a plane between the plane of the tub lid 12 and the plane of the fly wheel 15 and engages a pinion 19 formed on the hub of the fly wheel 15.

20 indicates the main operating lever. Said lever, as shown, consists of a metallic socket member 21 which is journaled in any convenient manner in suitable bearings formed in laterally spaced arms 22 of a plate 23. The plate 23 is attached to the tub lid near its peripheral edge, and has a flange 24 which engages the peripheral edge of the tub lid so as to brace the plate in position to withstand the force applied to it in the operation of the lever. The socket member 21 has an upright socket 21 and a horizontal socket 21", each adapted for the reception of a wooden handle 20 The lever may thus be operated either in a backward and forward movement, without stooping, or by an up and down pumping motion of the operator.

25 indicates a pitman connected at one ,end to a crank pin 17' on the large gear 17 and at theother end to a swivel coupling 26 on the socket member 21. The swivel coupling is constructed to provide the necessary movement of the pitman 25 in a plane [parallel to the plane of the tub lid. Manifestly, the oscillation of the lever 20 will operate to continuously rotate the large gear 17 and through it and the pinion 19, to con tinuously rotate the fly wheel 15.

Alternating rotary motion is imparted to the dolly shaft from the lever 20 in the following manner: 27 indicates a pinion mounted concentric with the vertical central axis of the dolly shaft and provided with an elongated, tubular hub 28. The plate 12 is provided with a tubular bearing 28 for said hub, said bearing extending through a suitable aperture in the tub lid 12. The

bottom of the lid is reinforced by aboard 29, which is provided with a suitable aperture through which the reduced bottom end 28 of the tubular hub of the pinion 27 extends.

30 indicates an apertured plate attached to the bottom of the wooden disk 29. Said plate serves to finish off the aperture in the disk 29 and at the same time acts to limit the upward movement of the dolly 14 thus preventing the upper end of the dolly shaft 14 from striking against the web 15 of the fly wheel 15. The lower end part 28* of the pinion hub has a rectangular opening that closely engages the dolly shaft 14 which is rectangular in cross section. The upper part of said tubular hub has a cylindrical opening, and a shoulder formed between the two different partsof the tubular hub provides an offset for engagement with a pin 32 fixed transversely at the upper. end of the dolly shaft to limit its downward movement in the hub of the pinion 27.

Manifestly, no matter what the position of the dolly shaft, the engagement of the lower end part of the pinion hub 28 will cause said dolly shaft to rotate with the pinion 27.

The alternating, rotary movement is communicated to the pinion 27, in the usual Way, by means of a bar 33 having a rack 34 at one end engaged with said pinion and connected at its other end to the lever 20. Thus, by the oscillation of the lever, the required operation of the gearing, namely, the continuous rotation of the fly wheel and the alternating, rotary motion of the dolly shaft is brought about.

By the construction of the gearing, with the dolly or operating shaft 14 slidable vertically in the hub of the pinion 27, the dolly or agitator 14 is enabled to accommodate itself to the clothes within the tub during the washing operation and at the same time, no part of the dolly shaft depends below the dolly to become entangled with the clothes, as is the case where the dolly is made to slide vertically on the dolly or operating shaft.

With the gearing arranged in the manner described on the top of the tub lid, it is pos sible to easily inclose it to prevent danger of parts of the body or clothing of the operator from becoming entangled in it. The fly wheel itself covers a part of the large gear 17 and covers the pinions on the fly wheel and on the dolly shaft. Said fly wheel is preferably made with a smooth band rim15 and with a perforated plate 15 to form the web of the wheel instead of the usual spokes. The part of the gear 17 that extends beyond the fly wheel is inclosed by means of a segmental plate 35 which is attached to the top of the tub lid.

The heavier parts of the gearing are attached to the tub lid near the axis of the hinges and the lid may be easily raised by means of the operating lever. To assist in the raising movement, a contractile coiled spring 36 is attached at one end to the gear inclosing plate 35 and at the other end to a part of one of the hinges 12 which is attached to the top of the tub. This spring acts to assist in raising the lid when the tub is to be'opened and also acts to hold the lid in raised position and to prevent it from falling.

The rack bar 34 is held in operative engagement with the pinion 27 by means of an antifriction roll 40 which is mounted on a stud 41 attached to the plate 13. An angular bracket bar 42 attached to the tub lid adjacent the antifriction roll 40 acts to protect said antifriction roll. Said bracket bar is also prolonged into a position above the top of the gear 27 and acts to prevent said gear from dropping out of its position in the lid when the tub lid is raised and thrown back.

I claim as my invention:

A gearing for washing machines, comprising in combination with a horizontal support, a bearing plate fixed to said support, an upright operating shaft depending from and journaled in said bearing plate, a pinion non-rotatively mounted on said operating shaft above said bearing plate, a. stud rising from said bearing plate and spaced from said operating shaft, a fly wheel rotatively mounted on said stud, a second stud rising from said plate and spaced to one side of the line of said first named stud and operating shaft, a larger gear rotatively mounted on said second stud, a small gear fixed to said fly wheel coaxially therewith in a plane below the plane of said fly wheel, said small gear being engaged by said large gear, said large gear, small gear and pinion being all located in a common plane between said bracket plate and fly wheel, said large gear being partially covered by said fly wheel, a gear casing fixed to said support and covering that part of the large gear exposed beyond said fly wheel, a bracket plate fixed to the edge of said support and depending below the same, a prime mover lever of the second class, fulcrumed to said bracket, a pitman operatively connecting said prime mover with said large gear and a rack bar operatively connecting said prime mover with said pinion.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this third day of June, A. D. 1914.

WILLIAM H. GEORGE.

Witnesses:

R. D. HUNT, J AS. M. HAMMON.

Qopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latenta,

Washington, D- 9- 

